CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVII, Issue 11188, 9 February 1897, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

The Premiers in confers ence at Hobart last-week: were content to tako-;up Sr negative position on the, qpesfion of ' the Anglo* Japanese treaty, by simply l deciding to take no steps “towards- getting the treaty extendecLto thocolonies,on tha ground that these conrnrtnixties should retain the power to protect themselves against cheap labour. We think tha Premiers might well have gone fnrtheu and placed upon record amopinion -regard* ing the unadvisabteness of Engiambentering into treaties that may be interpreted as giving Asiatics free access to - every part of her Majesty’s dominions. The new commercial treaty between England and Japan containsihe-customaryclauseaboirf? the subjects of either Power being“at full liberty to enter and reside inthetemtory of the other, and. it is believed in soma quarters that this-stipulation extends-to Japanese the right to emigrate to Hew Zealand, TawwMdfcemay be passed by our Legislature imposing ■» poll-tax on.Asiatiejnrmigr.aats. There isiu Wellington-at ■ present a Japanesesgontleman who, in conversation with of the capital, said that he had come to this country, hot so much, to make a profit .from is engaged,..as to “ spy out the land"” and report on its suitableness for Japanese workers. 'When he was remindcd-ofthe .£IOO poli-tax- von Asiatics, he audt '■ <c We do not intend to-pay .£l(X)each. Hsw 'Zealand is the daughter of Great- Britain. Thirty years ago we opened ourrporfcs to your honourable nation. Queen 'Victoria made a treaty that iPwe-allowecLher subjects to enter Japan she would, do likewise. We have never-broken that treaty, and so far we have taken ictthj or no advantage of it. We can -land-in England,, and we-are coming-here. "Wo do not consult Hew Zealanders about’-thatg you are too- youngto knowTunchyet. Wo shall speak to your not go back from, her agreement. We- ara coming when our time arrives. It-may mean that we shall force our wayin & manner unpleasant to the good-people of this colony.” This educated Japanese disclaimed being an emissaay-of his-Govem-ment, but said that he represented the great men and manufacturers of Japan. His frantnessis the speaker has authority behind him,and it becomes- more- significant when viewed in connection with the gingerly-treatment of the Japanese question by the Premiers* Conference.

NEW ZEALAND ANDTETB JAPANESE.

The question of -whether democratic rule has been. a> success in New Zealand ia discussed ;in a recent issue of the London journal. Personal Bights, by Mr W. Steadman Aldis, late Professor of Mathematics at Auckland University College That gentleman, judged by his frequent contributions to the Press, is an opponent of the Liberal Party in New Zealand, and it therefore is pleasing to note what he puts down to the credit of this country as having been achieved under democratic Government. He says that many things which are an inspiration or a dream of the future to the English Eadical are accomplished facts in New Zealand. To begin with, there is no Established Church, for « though Roman and Anglican dignitaries play at being bishops of Auckland or Wellington, and like to be addressed as ‘ Monsignor *or ( My Lord, tbeir legal status is precisely that of any other minister of religion. A Nonconformist, coming from England to New Zealand, | ; feels at once that he is in a freer air, v that the great wall which separates English, society by an impassable barrier into two classes - , is broken down, the great rift which divides socially the Episcopalian on the one side from the Nonconformist on the other is filled up, so that men • can mingle 1 freely as they will.” In political matters, Mr Aldis admits, we are similarly ahead. Triennial Parliaments and equal electoral districts, with prohibition of plural voting, give us an excellent electoral system. One-man-one-vote is the universal rule. In 1893 the crowning extension of tha suffrage was made by the admission of women. To vote for a member of Parliament is now , the right of every adult human being who has resided foe a short time within the colony. In this direction advance is no longer possible, for we have reached the ultimate goal. , It is hardly possible, the writer proceeds, to imagine arrangements more complete, according to, the usual way of viewing democratic rule, for carrying out government of the people, by the people, ior the people than those which have been briefly sketched. To an English Chartist,scarcely anything would have seemed to be wanting to bring about a social millennium. With no hereditary aristocracy, no established church, no royal court with its costly satellites and no personal privileges, what is left for the heart of the Socialist to desire P

DEMOCRATIC BULB IN NEW ZEALAND.

WHERE IT FAILS.

Mr ALdis finds a great deal still lacking, which, is distinctly refreshing, for too often wo hear thatt only " one thing more J ’ is required to -.produce

perfection and that is the displacing of the Liberal Government bra Conservative one. First onthelist Mr Aldis places our heavy taxation, then our “ huge national debt,” and then comes a big indictment. “ Nearly every industry,” he says, “is depressed; traders from some cause are all apparently suffering from a sort of creeping commercial paralysis,' confidence seems gone, heart and hope are failing, and population is leaving our shores at a rate which is perplexing and alarming to politicians of all parties.” It is a rude shock to find a professor of mathematics so deficient in ordinary logic as to associate the form of government with such matters as these. But it is more shocking still to find the master of an exact science utterly astray in his facts. The “ creeping commercial paralysis ” and the loss of population are phenomena that have, within the last few years, ceased to exist. This colony has been steadily gaining in population by an influx from Australia, trade is brisk, the revenue* was never more buoyant, and the outlook is on all hands most encouraging. The debt and its corollary 'of taxation are necessities of the development of a new country, and are absolutely independent of whether the form of government is autocratic or democratic. In lengthy passages, which are meant to be deeply philosophic, Mr Aldis goes on to lament the prevalence of “the lower motives” among our public men, and the tendendy of our social reformers to omit or to underrate “ the great element of human nature.” Prom the context it is evident that he means that our tendency is to overrate the powers of humanity, which is the fault of ardent and optimistic communities, and being a failing that “ leans to virtue’s side,” ought to be set to bur credit. Mr Aldis oughtto remember that the process of reform is a gradual one. The phase of “ Government of the people, by the politicians, for the party,” will assuredly pass away, and with it will disappear many of those objectionable features Of public life which cling to New Zealand in some degree, though by no means in the same degree as in certain countries where “ socialistic schemes ” are tabooed.